I did NOT watch THE GAME

williebfree · #1 (**permalink**) Fri Dec 13, 2002, 10:53am

Perhaps my view is based out of personal jealousy that I will never refine my skills (in officiating) to the level which Mr. James will achieve in his pursuit of basketball. Nonethless, I want to present this for discussion...

I applaud ESPN for airing the story about Jake Porter (Ohio Football player afflicted with a medical condition that disallowed him to be involved in contact, but was afforded to live a dream come true due to exemplary sportsmanship). Then I see ESPN deciding to nationally televise a HS game which features an ultra-talented hoops star. I believe this decision has have eroded another layer of purity and sportsmanship within the game, especially the footage which displayed Mr. James beating his chest in an unsporting "I am bad" demeanor.

Your comments please.

Lotto · #2 (**permalink**) Fri Dec 13, 2002, 11:04am

This decision by ESPN worries me. The college game has already been commercialized and professionalized so far that it has been completely severed from the academic setting of which it is nominally a part. Is the high school game next...?

stripes · #3 (**permalink**) Fri Dec 13, 2002, 11:13am

They will quit broadcasting these shows glorifying child stars when the general public quits watching them. The general public, however, has a facination with young prodigies (Tiger Woods, Jennifer Capriati, Alex Rodrigez come quickly to mind) and want to see for themselves how good they really are.

I watched (and was impressed by LeBron James), but so did lots of other people. The trend will probably continue.

APHP · #4 (**permalink**) Fri Dec 13, 2002, 11:19am

"gestures are unsporting" by rule. I will warn the player first, but if it continues, it's a "T". Obviously all officials don't agree with this.

BktBallRef · #5 (**permalink**) Fri Dec 13, 2002, 11:55am

Here's one for you.

ECU and ESPN's decision to televise and play an ECU football game on Firday night was met with a lot of disapproval by HS coaches, Fans, and the NCHSAA. Friday night has always been a sanctuary for HS football. But ESPN and ECU chose to violate that, and have thus, opened the flood gates for future games.

Now, the #1 HS football player in the country is Chris Leak from Charlotte Independence. ESPN contacted the NCHSAA and requested permission to televise part of a recent playoff game that Independence was involved in, during halftime of an NCAA basketball game. The President of the Association basically told them to gotohell. They didn't like that answer for some reason, so they went to the Board of Directors, who also said no.

It was nice to see ESPN tuck their tail between their legs and head back to Bristol.

zebraman · #6 (**permalink**) Fri Dec 13, 2002, 12:19pm

ESPN is in the sports entertainment business. Businesses are formed to make money. TV stations generate money based on viewer numbers. There were probably many viewers who watched the game last night. What's the problem?

Around here, they put local high school games on radio and cable access TV. What's the problem?

I didn't think much of LeBron's chest-beating. Other than that, he seemed to do and say all the right things. I didn't think much of the "raise the roof" signal that players were doing a couple years ago. My parents thought that the "high fives" we started doing were pretty dumb when I played about 20 years ago. :-)

Z

Hawks Coach · #7 (**permalink**) Fri Dec 13, 2002, 02:15pm

In several other sports, we regularly watch athletes who are younger than LeBron James. Gymnastics and figure skating are often cited (and laughed at as quasi sports), but you can also include tennis, soccer, swimming - we frequently have world class performers who are below age 18. Pele was starring in, and winning, the World Cup at 17. Santino Quaranta made the DC United roster at 16 or 17 years old.

Just because we are not accustomed to seeing this in basketball, why is it so wrong to watch a great player perform? The McDonald HS All Stars tour and play in major arenas in large cities. We have the DeMatha invitational at the MCI Center in DC, and it brings in top talent from around the country. What gives with the resistance to this concept? If he can play (and he can), lets watch and enjoy while we can. And to see him against (arguably) the best collection of HS talent in the country is the best test of all, and well worth putting on TV.

Dan_ref · #8 (**permalink**) Fri Dec 13, 2002, 02:49pm

Quote:

Originally posted by Hawks Coach
In several other sports, we regularly watch athletes who are younger than LeBron James. Gymnastics and figure skating are often cited (and laughed at as quasi sports), but you can also include tennis, soccer, swimming - we frequently have world class performers who are below age 18. Pele was starring in, and winning, the World Cup at 17. Santino Quaranta made the DC United roster at 16 or 17 years old.

And if he was a singer or actor this would not be an issue.

Hawks Coach · #9 (**permalink**) Fri Dec 13, 2002, 03:20pm

Exactly - it is only in these pure sports like basketball that we worry about purity. Game is changing, my friends - and it is changed forever. With all the competition available to the promising young stars, we have more and more players who can take that step to the pros immediately.

Now the NCAA has to handle dealing with those who thought they could make it straight from and couldn't get drafted - I have a feeling that the eligibility rules will be changing soon as well. This is not your father's Oldsmobile.

AK ref SE · #10 (**permalink**) Fri Dec 13, 2002, 03:26pm

Dan ref-

You hit it with your comment...look at all the childhood singers and actors that make millions.....The same can be said for them and many are much younger when they have the pressure put on them. Many have had problems with all the fame and attention and money. Many have done well for themselves. I just hope James surrounds himself with people that will lookout for him.

AK ref SE

williebfree · #11 (**permalink**) Fri Dec 13, 2002, 04:02pm

Quote:

Originally posted by zebraman
ESPN is in the sports entertainment business. Businesses are formed to make money. TV stations generate money based on viewer numbers. There were probably many viewers who watched the game last night. What's the problem?

Around here, they put local high school games on radio and cable access TV. What's the problem?

I didn't think much of LeBron's chest-beating. Other than that, he seemed to do and say all the right things. I didn't think much of the "raise the roof" signal that players were doing a couple years ago. My parents thought that the "high fives" we started doing were pretty dumb when I played about 20 years ago. :-)

Z

I certainly DO NOT fault "King" James alone for building up all the hype. My issue is with ESPN, and I guess ultimately our society. As pointed out in earlier posts, this is entertainment and that is their business.

I disagree that I have to accept a continuous decline in sportsmanship. I am NOT Black and White on this issue, but there are definite behaviors that I will address. Anything that is done to humiliate the opponent will be viewed as unsporting... Unfortunately, some coaches do not instill (nor demand) an appropriate level of respect for the game and sportsmanship.

Hawks Coach - I totally understand what you are saying about "things are a changin" and I do not have a big issue with nationally televising the All-American McDonalds game because it is not specifically designed to showcase one player.

BTW: I, nor has my father, ever owned an oldsmobile.

Hawks Coach · #12 (**permalink**) Fri Dec 13, 2002, 05:13pm

People always want to watch great players - and always have. I bet if you looked at attendance records in baseball from the 20s and 30s, the Yankees always drew a good road crowd because they had the Babe. In the 80s, NBA teams loved to have the Bulls come to town, not cause they'd beat them but because Jordan would sell the arena out. Gretsky sold out arenas as a 12 year old kid in Canada - before there was an ESPN. I went to see DeMatha with Bogans and Forte just to see those two play - and I went when they played the top teams to see how they would handle the best. People want to see the best, regardless of their age.

In team sports, star seems to be a bad word. I agree that some stars take things too far in terms of their own image of themselves that they project to everyone else. But I can't find fault with a network for showing a star to us - that's what sports fans in every era have wanted to see. And networks have always featured games with stars long before ESPN existed. ESPN just gives us an outlet to see this player that we would not have had before. I am thankful for that outlet - otherwise I would have to drive to Cleveland

LeBron will hit the jackpot in a pro contract, and immediately will hit basketball adversity the moment he takes the court for his first pro game. He will struggle, and we will ultimately see if he has what it takes to build his game to the NBA level. But lets enjoy what he can do now and hope that he has what it takes to handle the fame and fortune that will be his in six months.

BktBallRef · #13 (**permalink**) Fri Dec 13, 2002, 10:43pm

I think one of the issues that exist is that, as someone said, this is a business for ESPN. They could give-a-**** about televising high school athletics, unless it benefits them in some way. In what is basically the highest level of amatuer basketball, ESPN is now deeping their toe. I just hope that the schools benefitted financially from the broadcast.

Hawks Coach · #14 (**permalink**) Sat Dec 14, 2002, 09:31am

Oak Hill must already have deep pockets, the way they scholarship all those premier players and travel the east to play the top teams. I heard that LeBron has been worth about 300K to his school (playing at Cleveland State, PPV packages, the ESPN deal). Not bad.

theboys · #15 (**permalink**) Mon Dec 16, 2002, 02:11pm

Well, I'm a coupla days late getting in on this topic, but I gotta add my two cents anyway.

I didn't watch the Lebron James spectacle either. I guess the problem I have with the televising of the game is the same issue I have with televising the Little League World Series and other youth events - basically, its being done, not out of a celebration of sport, but a way to make a buck. And, ultimately, that will be the ruination of amateur sports.

Over the years, I've attended high school basketball and baseball games simply to watch gifted athletes perform. But, it was the pure joy of watching the athlete perform his or her sport at an excellent level that made me go.

As for comparing high school athletes to singers or actors of the same age, to me its different. The singer/actor isn't representing an institution. They are simply representing themselves.

Do you think McDonald's, Nike, ESPN, any of those big corporations support high school sports because they "just want to help kids out"? Right. If Nike just wants to help kids out, tell them to send my mediocre high school a check - our fieldhouse is literally falling down around us.